Thousands without power as driving rain, strong winds batter Maritimes
Posted Dec 14, 2010 04:21:42 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Nova Scotia is currently in the grip of another big nor’easter that is battering the province with strong winds and driving rain.
The system is causing thousands of power outages, flooding and traffic restrictions on the harbour bridges.
Wind warnings have been lifted in metro Halifax, but remain in effect throughout Atlantic Canada. Rainfall warnings have also been lifted locally as well.
The top wind gust recorded at the airport was 102 km/hour at 1 a.m., with a gust of about 100 km/hour recorded on McNab’s Island at 2 a.m.
Meterologist Richard Zurawski says the worst of the wind is already over.
“Over the last few hours, we’ve had some heavy rain so it looks like we’re getting the height of the storm now,” he said. “It should gradually taper off, by the time we get into mid-morning, and by noon it’s down to showers and just gusty winds around 50 klicks.”
Zurawski says this storm is not considered a “weather bomb” like last Monday’s because the central pressure fell less than 24 millibars in 24 hours.
Up to 70mm of rain are expected in some areas and flash flooding has already forced evacuations in Windsor. The Red Cross reports 13 residents of the Kingsway Garden assisted-living complex in Windsor were evacuated around midnight due to storm damage to their building. They were taken to a reception centre at the Hants County War Memorial community centre in Windsor.
Closer to home, RCMP Staff Sgt. Bruce Webb reports drivers will face water building up on the roads, posing the risk of hydroplaning – and he says drivers in coastal areas should expect some problems.
“We had a report that there were some rocks tossed up near the Lawrencetown Beach, and in the Cow Bay area, we had to have the road blocked off because the road had flooded and waves are coming over the road,” he said.
Nova Scotia Power reported up to 85,000 customers without power overnight and thousands remain in the dark this hour. Outages can be tracked on the live outage map or on Nova Scotia Power’s mobile site.
The MacKay Bridge was closed to high-sided vehicles and the MacDonald Bridge to pedestrians and cyclists, though those restrictions have now been lifted. City streets are littered with garbage bags, cans and other debris and police are urging caution during the morning commute.
The arrival and departure boards at Halifax Stanfield International Airport are showing lots of delays and cancellations, so be sure to check your flight’s status before leaving home.
